Blair says Spurs ‘didn’t give me anything’

SAN ANTONIO — DeJuan Blair is at it again, taking yet another shot at his former club. This time he complained that the Spurs “didn’t give me anything” during his four seasons in San Antonio before signing with Dallas after receiving scant interest in free agency.

“Like everybody else who doesn’t play, it’s very disappointing. But I knew I was going to a new team and somebody else was going to take advantage of the potential I had. So to me it’s not a big deal.

“It’s going to be fun being on the opposite team and playing with the Mavs (against the Spurs). They didn’t give me anything when I was there. I mean, the fans gave me everything. But everything else, it is what it is. I just look for us to get a win (when Dallas plays the Spurs).”

In reality, the Spurs gave Blair 166 starts after drafting him 37th in the 2009 draft, when 25 franchises had already passed on the undersized power forward from Pittsburgh.

It took three seasons, but Gregg Popovich finally determined that Blair’s strengths — effective finishing around the rim, rebounding — weren’t nearly enough to offset his weaknesses, particularly on the defensive end. With Blair on the court, the Spurs’ performance consistently dropped at both ends.

In comparison, the Spurs played better on both ends last season with Blair’s replacement in the starting lineup, Tiago Splitter. With veteran Boris Diaw providing a more versatile option off the bench, there simply wasn’t any reason to continue playing Blair.

As such, he played more than 500 fewer minutes while his starts dropped from 62 to 16. The Spurs, meanwhile, jumped from 10th to third in defensive efficiency while coming within seconds of beating Miami in the Finals.

Something else to consider: If the Mavericks were that excited to sign Blair, they probably wouldn’t have let him languish for more than a month on the open market, and they probably would have offered him a better deal than just one year for the assumed minimum of just under $1 million.

So as satisfying as it might be to take swipes at his former club, Blair should probably put the onus where it belongs: His own shortcomings.